Ministerial Policy Advisers

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  when Mr Phil Taylor formally ended his employment as a special adviser to the Northern Ireland Office;
	(2)  what the employment status was of special adviser to the Northern Ireland Office, Mr Phil Taylor while working on a Labour Party deputy leadership campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Mr. Phil Taylor ceased to be employed by the Northern Ireland Office on 28 June 2007.
	Special advisers working in the Northern Ireland Office were aware of the Special Adviser Code of Conduct and the additional guidance issued by the Cabinet Secretary in December 2006.

Africa: International Assistance

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the potential role of international companies in promoting development in Africa; and what steps he is taking to promote and co-ordinate such involvement.

Gareth Thomas: International companies have a key role in contributing towards development and economic growth in Africa through investment, job creation and their contribution to government revenues by paying taxes.
	The UK Government work with developing country governments and international agencies to create an environment that supports the growth of business by supporting reforms that allow markets to work with greater efficiency and fairness. The UK Government also promote adherence to the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises which set out the standards on issues such as employment and industrial relations, the environment and corruption that OECD governments expect business to adhere to when they invest overseas.
	Companies can also use their core business to deliver better development outcomes. The Department for International Development (DFID) is working with companies that have signed up to the Prime Minister's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Call to Action to develop concrete initiatives which apply core business, skills, and expertise to enhance growth and wealth creation to help meet the MDGs.

EU Aid: Food

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions  (a) he,  (b) his officials and  (c) UK representatives in Brussels have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the EU Commission on the additional 160 million euro funding announced to supplement EU food aid; what assessment his Department has made of the planned distribution of these additional funds; whether his Department was consulted in the process of reaching this decision; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The European Commission's €160 million operational plan for food aid to meet the food needs of approximately 18,675,000 people was discussed with member states at the Humanitarian Aid Committee (MAC) on 13-14 December in Brussels. DFID received the papers about the decision but was not represented at this meeting.
	Following the Humanitarian Aid Committee in December the operational plan for food aid was adopted by the European Parliament on 19 February.
	These funds form part of the €223 million food aid budget under the European Commission's Humanitarian Regulation. They take account of expected increases in humanitarian demand due to climatic shock, the decreasing availability of food, the impact of recent food price rises and the reducing incomes of the most vulnerable groups.
	DFID subsequently reviewed the operational plan and is confident that the allocation is appropriate and will be spent where there is genuine need.

Departmental Publications

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will publish the full strategic framework document Better World, Better Britain following his letter to hon. and right hon. Members of 29 February 2008 enclosing a leaflet setting out in brief the new strategy.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 The key points of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) new strategic framework were set out in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's written ministerial statement of 23 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 52-53WS. Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to all hon. Members and peers, enclosing a leaflet titled: "Better World, Better Britain", with further information about the strategic framework. Further details will be available on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) from 28 March 2008 and in the forthcoming FCO departmental report.

Departmental Scholarships

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written Ministerial statement of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 23WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, if he will publish the review.

Jim Murphy: I will arrange for a copy of our 2006 review of the Chevening scholarship scheme to be placed in the Library of the House.

Kenya: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the power sharing agreement in Kenya.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	We welcome the power-sharing agreement signed by President Kibaki and the leader of the opposition, Raila Odinga, on 28 February 2008. We join the international community in thanking Kofi Annan and his team for their outstanding efforts in brokering this deal.
	But the hard work must continue. Real leadership, patience and tolerance is necessary to ensure that the agreement sticks and is implemented in full. We welcome signs that this is happening, including the constitutional reforms passed on 18 March 2008 involving creating the office of Prime Minister.

Tibet: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Tibet; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 We remain very concerned about the situation in Tibet and surrounding areas, including reports of loss of life, use of force and damage to property. We understand an uneasy calm has returned to the streets of Lhasa. We continue to urge the Chinese to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to exercise maximum restraint in restoring public order; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet. We also call on the protesters, in Lhasa and elsewhere, to desist from further violence. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Chinese Premier Wen on 19 March urging the Chinese government to address the underlying issues by re-engaging in dialogue without preconditions with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also emphasised the need for dialogue when he spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on 21 March.

Adventure Capital Fund: Contracts

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria his Department used in the process which resulted in Adventure Capital Fund being awarded a contract to distribute grant funding; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The criteria used to determine the new fund manager for the Futurebuilders programme were:
	quality and efficiency of service;
	quality of bidding organisation or consortium;
	Engagement with the government's aims for the third sector; and
	price.
	The Cabinet Office used the European Union model known as the "competitive dialogue" process, which allowed the Cabinet Office to discuss its needs and requirements with a pool of potential bidders with the aim of selecting one or more solutions capable of meeting its needs.
	The Adventure Capital Fund (ACF) submitted the tender that best met the set criteria for the re-tender and offered best value.

Departmental Data Protection

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by her Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external sources in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the "Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report" on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance in their annual reports.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency uses to check the bona fides of private parking control companies before releasing personal data relating to vehicle owners and operators to them; what steps the Agency takes to assess the uses to which such data is put by such companies; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 7 January 2008
	In the Secretary of State for Transport's statement to Parliament on 17 December she outlined measures to improve the security of personal data in the context of the Cabinet Secretary's review of data across Government.
	She also advised that, to ensure greater clarity of responsibility, the Permanent Secretary has written to senior officials in the Department, including Agency Chief Executives, drawing their attention to current guidance on the application of the Data Protection Act. This includes the main principles of the Act, information on handling personal data appropriately and the role of the Information Commissioner.
	New measures for companies requesting information manually were introduced on 1 November 2006, following the review of the release of information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) records announced by the then Minister of State for Transport (the hon. Member for South Thanet). The use of company headed paper has been replaced by the introduction of two new forms—V888/2 and V888/3. All applications must be supported with a business resume outlining details of the company's operations and provide details of why they want the
	information and how it will be used, as well as evidence to corroborate their request.
	Car park enforcement companies have to confirm that a parking charge scheme is in operation, and provide evidence that they are operating on the instruction of the landowner. All forms contain a note that reminds applicants that it is a criminal offence under Section 55 of the DPA to falsely obtain personal information.
	Companies that request and receive data via a secure electronic link do so under strict contractual terms and must firstly complete a six-month probationary period making manual requests, during which time their behaviour in the use of the information is monitored. The level and nature of any complaints is taken into account before an electronic link is established. Since 1 October 2007, all organisations that do not have a statutory regulator are required to be a member of a DVLA Accredited Trade Association (ATA).
	An ATA must have a clear, enforceable code of practice (COP) governing the conduct and business practices of their members and will publish that COP on their website, along with a list of their members. ATAs that fail to enforce their COP will lose their accreditation and their members will forfeit their entitlement to request and receive DVLA data electronically.
	The Agency has the right to carry out ad-hoc audits on companies to ensure that inquiries are appropriate. Any evidence of abuse will be referred to the Information Commissioner for investigation and, when appropriate, prosecution.

Motorcycles: Safety Measures

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of measures for improving the safety of motorcycle users established in the Government's motorcycling strategy; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government's Motorcycling Strategy includes a wide range of actions. We regularly keep each of these under review, working with motorcycling industry and user groups through the National Motorcycle Council and its four sub-groups.

Devolution: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) amount and  (b) purpose of payments made to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland outside (i) block grants calculated under the Barnett formula and (ii) main departmental programmes in annually managed expenditure was in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Figures for departmental expenditure limits and departmental annually managed expenditure for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses. Changes in DEL are determined as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. Forecasts of annually managed spending are updated in the Budget and pre-Budget report in the normal way. Details of specific settlements for the devolved administrations are set out in the relevant spending review White Paper. The devolved Administrations' spending plans are set out in their own budget publications.

Income: Equality

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2008,  Official Report, column 112W, on income: equality, what assessment he has made of trends in  (a) national prosperity and  (b) household income inequality in (i) England, (ii) the North East, (iii) Tees Valley district and (iv) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Jane Kennedy: The ONS publishes measures of regional gross value added (GVA) per head in current prices in the regional accounts publication. The lowest regional level available is the NUTS3 level (unitary authorities or districts). The published data show a significant increase in GVA per head in England, North East and Tees Valley since 1997. There are no published data for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland as they are below the NUTS3 level.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359
	Currently there are no available statistics of household income inequality at regional level. Data at UK level are published by the DWP in "Households Below Average Income" and by the ONS in "The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income". Available statistics show that the inequality at UK level has been stable since 1997.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider again at whether Stamp Duty/Land Tax (SDLT) should be charged on shared equity properties for first time buyers when they reach the thresholds for SDLT because of changes to house prices especially in Southern England.

Angela Eagle: Stamp duty rates and thresholds, like all other taxes, are kept under review as part of the Budget process.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the outcome was of his Department's review of the operation of the single room rent;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the quantity of accommodation that meets the criteria for eligibility for the single room rent.

James Plaskitt: The Department's recent review examined the shortfalls faced by many single room rent (SRR) claimants and considered why the majority of this group do not live in shared accommodation. Three aspects were examined—affordability, accessibility and availability of shared accommodation.
	On affordability we found that there are gaps in the market evidence on which the Rent Service set SRR rates and this may impact on affordability. However, changes to the way the Rent Service gathers market evidence brought about by the introduction of the local housing allowance (LHA) from April 2008, and a change in the SRR definition, should overcome the current evidence gaps and lead to an increase in SRR rates.
	On availability we found that some areas of the country, particularly rural areas, appear to have a shortage of shared accommodation that falls within the definition currently used for the SRR. However, the introduction of the national LHA will address some of these issues through the move to a median LHA rate and the new Shared Room Rate. The latter covers a wider definition of shared accommodation than under the current SRR and will better reflect the range of accommodation available to tenants.
	The findings on accessibility from academic research and some anecdotal evidence suggest that young people and housing benefit tenants are unpopular with landlords in the private rented sector which may restrict SRR customers' access to shared accommodation.
	The Department plans to make an initial assessment of the impact of the rollout of the LHA on the SRR as part of the two year review of the LHA.
	There is no data available to provide an accurate estimate of the quantity of accommodation that matches the definition of the SRR.

Energy: Housing

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects the provisions of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 on the energy efficiency of  (a) local authority housing stock and  (b) privately rented homes;
	(2)  what changes the operation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 has produced in levels of carbon dioxide emissions from residential housing stock;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the changes in residential accommodation energy efficiency which have resulted from the provisions of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the tonnage change in carbon dioxide emissions as a result of the implementation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the terawatt hour energy savings resulting from the implementation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of changes to levels of energy efficiency within residential accommodation as a result of the operation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

Phil Woolas: The 1995 Home Energy Conservation Act requires local authorities with housing responsibility to prepare a strategy for improving energy efficiency within residential accommodation in their areas and report annually on progress. Since 1996, authorities have reported an average total improvement of approximately 19 per cent. to 31 March 2006. Results for the period up to 31 March 2007 will be published shortly.
	A number of programmes are likely to have contributed to this improvement in energy efficiency, particularly the Energy Efficiency Commitment, Warm Front and Decent Homes. It is important to note that Home Energy Conservation Act strategies and monitoring techniques differ, and that the figures reported have not been independently verified.

Energy: Housing

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities achieved the improvement targets resulting from the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 in each year since the Act was implemented; and how many he expects to achieve the targets in the next 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The 1995 Home Energy Conservation Act requires local authorities with housing responsibility to prepare a strategy for improving energy efficiency within residential accommodation. These are aimed at achieving a voluntary 30 per cent. improvement within 10 to 15 years, though authorities identify their own specific targets. Most authorities have set 15 year targets, giving them until 2011 to meet them. However, annual progress reports suggest that 4 per cent. of authorities had met their targets by 31 March 2006.

Forestry: Borneo

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has held with the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia on deforestation on the island of Borneo; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Malaysian and Indonesian governments signed the tri-government (with Brunei) declaration on trans-boundary co-operation to preserve the Heart of Borneo in February 2007. The UK supports the development of a tri-national action plan to be completed in the first half of 2008. This will be important in shaping the future protection and sustainable use of forests on Borneo. DEFRA is currently funding 16 projects in Indonesia and Malaysia under the Darwin Initiative, including forest related projects on Borneo.
	DEFRA Ministers have met several times in the last year with their Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts, and discussed the importance of tackling deforestation in general in these countries.
	I met with Indonesian Environment Minister Witoelar, on 21 February 2008, and discussed forest carbon, among other issues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Hilary Benn) met with the Indonesian Minister of Agriculture on 1 October 2007 and discussed the problems of deforestation, and the related issues of illegal logging. He also discussed the need for a balanced approach to palm oil production. My hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Barry Gardiner) met with the Malaysian Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities in May 2007, explaining the UK's concern that palm oil production is increasing the pressure on forests.

Heating: EC Law

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations the Energy-using Products Board plans to have with the European Commission on the matter of boilers being outside the scope of the Energy-using Products Directive.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 DEFRA officials regularly meet and have discussions at EU level, including on energy efficient products, and have held a number of meetings with the Commission on the Energy Using Products Directive, including an informal meeting on the Commission's proposed implementing measure on boilers and water heaters. No specific discussions have been held on the matter of boilers being outside the scope of this directive as my Department supports their inclusion due to the high energy use of these products.
	The Commission is currently analysing responses from the boiler and water heater industry on its proposals for boilers and water heaters. DEFRA officials attended a Consultation Forum (comprising the Commission, European trade associations and other member state representatives) on these proposals on 29 February.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Social Security Benefits

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many benefits entitlements checks were carried out under the Warm Front Scheme in each of the last five financial years; and how many households were found to be eligible for a Warm Front qualifying benefit following a benefit entitlement check, broken down by local authority area.

Phil Woolas: Data are not recorded in a manner that will allow a breakdown by local authority. The following table illustrates the number of benefit entitlement checks carried out over the last five financial years, and based on the information provided, how many were subsequently found to be eligible for a Warm Front qualifying benefit.
	
		
			   Number of benefit entitlement checks carried out  Number subsequently eligible for Warm Front 
			 2003-04 1,772 689 
			 2004-05 16,771 5,347 
			 2005-06 14,674 5,699 
			 2006-07 22,761 9,607 
			 2007-08 16,712 4,845 
			 Total 72,690 26,187 
		
	
	The total number of benefit checks carried out only includes households found to be ineligible for assistance when presented to the scheme.
	2007-08 figures cover work completed between 1 June 2007 and 1 March 2008.

Wind Power

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which wind farm proposals his Department lodged objection in each of the last three years; and for what reasons in each case.

Phil Woolas: For onshore windfarms under 50 megawatts, planning decisions are taken by local planning authorities. For windfarms above this threshold, decisions are taken by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform under the Electricity Act 1989. DEFRA is not consulted in either case but Natural England will have a chance to comment as statutory consultees. Natural England and its founding bodies have objected to three onshore wind farms in three regions, and seven offshore wind farms adjacent to four regions.
	The Environment Agency is not a Statutory Consultee for windfarms, but is consulted on some windfarm developments for other statutory reasons. Between 2005 and 2007 (inclusive) the Environment Agency objected to a total of five planning applications for windfarms for reasons including flood risk, impact on biodiversity and groundwater. In all five cases after further work by the developer the Environment Agency were able to withdraw their objections.
	The Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) has a direct role in licensing offshore renewables under the Food and Environment Protection Act. An application could be rejected if assessment of the detailed environmental statement, submitted with the application, and other information showed that the proposed development would have a negative impact on the marine environment. To date, the MFA has not rejected an application for an offshore wind farm.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to accident and emergency departments there were for  (a) knife-related injuries and  (b) gunshot wounds in each of the last five years, broken down by primary care trust.

Ben Bradshaw: Information is collected on the number of finished admissions to hospital via accident and emergency. Tables have been placed in the Library which provide a breakdown of the data by primary care trusts (PCT). However, the tables only provide information on those PCTs where the number if admissions, is more than five, due to the need to ensure that data remains anonymous.
	It is worth noting that finished admission episodes do not represent the number of patients admitted as a patient may be admitted more than once.

Allergies: Medical Treatments

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will request the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to undertake a review of allergy services and treatments.

Ann Keen: The Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are currently working together on some focussed proposals for guidance relating to allergy. These proposals will be fed into the NICE topic selection process for consideration alongside other possible topics for NICE'S work programme.

Dental Services

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that oral health is maintained in England.

Ben Bradshaw: Oral health in England has improved considerably during the last 30 years and the Government wish to see this improvement maintained.
	In 2003 the Government enacted new legislation which gives communities a real option of having their water fluoridated should this be needed to reduce oral health inequalities and improve oral health. A number of areas across the country are now actively considering the possibility of new water fluoridation schemes.
	Recognising that it may not be feasible to fluoridate all these high need areas, the Government developed the Brushing for Life programme. Brushing for Life involves health visitors giving families with young children in high need areas advice on preventing dental decay and a free pack containing a tube of fluoridated toothpaste, a toothbrush and a leaflet on oral hygiene. In many areas it is run in close association with Sure Start.
	In October 2005 the Government published Choosing Better Oral Health: an oral health plan for England which set out a strategy to reduce oral health inequalities. In September 2007 the Department published Delivering Better Oral Health: An evidence-based toolkit for prevention which contains guidance to dentists and other dental care professionals on how to promote oral health and prevent dental disease and provides information to primary care trusts on what preventive care they should be commissioning.

Dental Services: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the adequacy of NHS dentistry provision in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to extend provision of NHS dentistry in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire.

Ann Keen: The numbers of dentists on open national health service contracts, in England, as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006, and 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report. This information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority (SHA).
	This report, published on 23 August 2007, is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607
	The numbers published are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	The methodology for reporting dental workforce information since the introduction of the new dental contractual arrangements, on 1 April 2006, is currently under review, The review is to ensure that the figures provide an appropriate measure of the workforce, given the way that the payments system is being used by PCTs. The workforce data within the report will therefore remain the latest available until this review is complete.
	The number of people seen by an NHS dentist, in England, are available in Table C1 of Annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 2, 30 September 2007" report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007, and 30 September 2007. The information is provided by PCT and by SHA.
	Information on the number of courses of treatment performed, by treatment band, 1 July 2007 to 30 September 2007, is available in Table Al of Annex 3 of the report. Information on the number of units of dental activity performed, by treatment band, for the same time period is available in Table B1. Information is provided by PCT and by SHA in both tables.
	This report, published on 28 February 2008, is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstatsq20708
	Information by constituency under the new contractual arrangements is not available.
	Both reports have been published by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
	Increasing the number of patients seen within NHS dental services is now a formal priority in the NHS operating framework for 2008-09 and we have supported this with a very substantial 11 per cent. uplift in overall allocations to PCTs from 1 April 2008.

Health Services: Scanning

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will investigate the  (a) effects on health of services offered by the body-scanning industry and  (b) the appropriateness of the level of exposure to x-ray technology of those services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take following the Twelfth COMARE report on the use of computerised tomography (CT) to  (a) improve regulations of the private CT scan industry and  (b) investigate the advertising of private asymptomatic scans in relation to radioactive content; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25  M arch 2008
	In 2005 the Department asked the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) to include radiation protection aspects of medical practices in its work programme and as a first consideration to report on computerised tomography (CT) scanning of the asymptomatic individual. COMARE produced its 12th report entitled "The impact of personally initiated computer tomography scanning for the health assessment of asymptomatic individuals" in December 2007. The report has been placed in the Library and is also available on the COMARE website at:
	www.comare.org.uk/documents/COMARE12thReport.pdf.
	COMARE recommended that regulation of these commercial CT services should be reviewed. It also recommends that clients should be provided with comprehensive information regarding dose and risk of the CT scan, as well as rates of false negative and false positive findings. Among its detailed recommendations (nine in all) COMARE noted there is a regulatory requirement that all medical exposures using ionising radiation should be optimised, and that it is not possible to optimise exposure parameters for CT scans of the whole of the body, and have strongly recommended that services offering whole body CT scanning of asymptomatic individuals should discontinue to do so. In addition, CT should not be used in assessment of spinal conditions, body fat and osteoporosis in asymptomatic individuals.
	The Department will be consulting widely on implementation of these recommendations.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the median number of days wait was for patients to receive hospital treatment following GP referral in England in each month since January 1997 based on hospital episodes statistics.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	By December 2008, patients who want it, and for whom it is clinically appropriate, can expect to start their treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral.
	Referral to treatment (RTT) waits were not monitored centrally prior to January 2007. Measurement of referral to treatment waiting times for admitted patients commenced in January 2007 and for non-admitted patients from April 2007. The following table shows median referral to treatment waits for both admitted and non-admitted patients since January 2007 and April 2007 respectively.
	
		
			  Average (median) RTT times (commissioner based) for completed pathways 
			  Days 
			   Admitted patients  Non-admitted patients 
			 January 2007 136 — 
			 February 2007 135 — 
			 March 2007 132 — 
			 April 2007 122 57 
			 May 2007 117 58 
			 June 2007 115 54 
			 July 2007 116 52 
			 August 2007 109 51 
			 September 2007 107 53 
			 October 2007 102 47 
			 November 2007 94 43 
			 December 2007 79 49 
			  Source: Monthly RTT data collection

Locums: Vacancies

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of vacant locum appointment,  (a) training posts and  (b) services posts in secondary care trusts in England; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Data regarding locums is not held centrally. Workforce planning is a matter for local determination based on the healthcare needs of the local population, and this would include the appointment and training of locums.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patient data contained in limited data sets of the secondary users service is fully anonymised.

Ben Bradshaw: Patient data contained in the limited, commissioning, data sets of the Secondary Uses Service is not fully anonymised, as the data is required for some core national health service business purposes.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the secondary users service will provide data on a commercial basis;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to prevent data made available to organisations through the secondary users service giving an unfair advantage in bidding procedures;
	(3)  whether patients will be able to opt out of having their data used in limited data sets in the secondary users service.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no plans for the secondary uses service (SUS) to provide data on a commercial basis. The current proposals for pseudonymised data extracts from the SUS will be available for any supplier who agrees the terms and conditions. Information from the SUS is used for commissioning purposes, and it is therefore not expected that patients would be able to opt out.

Mental Health Services: Security

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which secure mental health units in England are categorised as  (a) low,  (b) medium and  (c) high security.

Ivan Lewis: Information about the applicable security rating for each low and medium secure psychiatric unit in England is not held by the Department. An unvalidated contact list for medium secure mental health units has been placed in the Library. Low secure mental health services are not consistently defined and there is no central list.
	There are three secure units which offer high security services: these are Ashworth, Broadmoor and Rampton hospitals.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated of the impact on the NHS IT programme of the purchase of iSoft by IBA Healthcare, with particular reference to the (i) financial stability and (ii) cash conversion rate in recent healthcare projects of IBA Healthcare; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: It is the responsibility of the local service provider (LSP) with whom the national health service has entered into contract, to assure themselves of the financial stability of their sub-contractors and suppliers, and to deliver the NHS Care Record Service solution in accordance with their contractual obligations. NHS Connecting for Health regularly monitors the performance of all information technology prime contractors, including LSPs and sub-contractors, for financial stability. Computer Science Corporation as the relevant LSP, has confirmed the financial stability of IBA Healthcare as their sub-contractor and that the purchase of iSoft by IBA has not adversely impacted on the delivery timescales for the Lorenzo solution to the NHS.

Occupational Health: Cardiovascular System

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to support employers in improving the cardiovascular health of their workforces.

Ivan Lewis: The Government recognise the importance of health promotion in the workplace, including cardiovascular health.
	Last year the Government asked Dame Carol Black, the National Director of Health and Work to conduct a review of the health of the working age population.
	Dame Carol's report, "Working for a healthier tomorrow", was published on 17 March and contains specific recommendations for Government, health care professionals and employers in this area. There will be a cross Government response to the recommendations later in the year. A copy of this report is available in the Library.
	The Government have invested £800,000 in to the Well@Work programme, which aims to assess the effectiveness of health promotion interventions in the workplace, including physical activity. Physically active people have up to 50 per cent. reduced risk of major chronic disease such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Palliative Care: Cheshire

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data is used by commissioners to determine accurately the need for specialist palliative and neurological care in Eddisbury.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Western Cheshire PCT and the Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure they are effective and efficient.
	The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.
	Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions outlines commissioners' information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. A copy of the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions is available in the Library.

Prescriptions: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of prescriptions were issued in each month since the inception of the Electronic Prescriptions Service; and by how many and which  (a) GP sites and  (b) community pharmacies;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of prescriptions were transferred via the electronic prescriptions service between  (a) prescribers and dispensers and  (b) dispenser and the NHS business Services Division in each month since the inception of the electronic prescriptions service;
	(3)  whether the electronic prescriptions service can process prescriptions other than FP10 prescriptions.

Ben Bradshaw: In Release 1 of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), an electronic message is transmitted to the EPS in parallel with a paper FP10 prescription form which is handed to the patient. This is necessary while a patient may take a prescription to a pharmacy in the transitional period that is not yet using the electronic prescription service. The current scope of Release 1 and Release 2 is prescriptions generated by general practitioner (GP) practices, either GPs, nurse or pharmacist prescribers, and dispensed in the community.
	Electronic prescriptions are not planned to be transmitted to the NHS Business Service Authority until Release 2 is in operational use.
	The following table provides the total number of electronic messages transmitted through the service between prescriber and dispensers since its inception in February 2005.
	
		
			  Month  Total number of EPS R1 prescription messaged generated by GPs  Total number of EPS R1 dispense notification messages sent by pharmacy 
			 February 2005 607 158 
			 March 2005 3,442 1,110 
			 April 2005 2,887 1,284 
			 May 2005 3,576 1,624 
			 June 2005 3,394 700 
			 July 2005 6,135 1,176 
			 August 2005 6,432 1,118 
			 September 2005 14,400 1,504 
			 October 2005 46,039 1,485 
			 November 2005 69,823 1,844 
			 December 2005 68,365 2,451 
			
			 January 2006 87,074 1,594 
			 February 2006 153,771 809 
			 March 2006 260,898 3,476 
			 April 2006 262,952 2,458 
			 May 2006 439,427 2,227 
			 June 2006 662,362 7,594 
			 July 2006 816,584 4,248 
			 August 2006 1,083,300 7,793 
			 September 2006 1,362,209 8,955 
			 October 2006 1,361,877 17,110 
			 November 2006 1,539,616 22,396 
			 December 2006 1,607,737 23,308 
			
			 January 2007 1,988,882 31,708 
			 February 2007 2,223,368 44,690 
			 March 2007 2,617,552 59,528 
			 April 2007 2,493,531 51,913 
			 May 2007 3,351,179 89,128 
			 June 2007 3,575,681 126,382 
			 July 2007 4,454,930 158,129 
			 August 2007 4,982,637 191,288 
			 September 2007 4,935,859 226,683 
			 October 2007 6,291,931 273,948 
			 November 2007 5,855,981 276,397 
			 December 2007 5,573,366 255,016 
			
			 January 2008 6,897,355 370,909 
			 February 2008 6,623,597 428,500 
			 1 to 17 March 2008 4,890,086 243,144 
			 Total   
			 17 March 2008 75,003,880 2,951,526

Secure Psychiatric Units: Capacity

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum capacity of provision for  (a) NHS and  (b) independent sector secure mental healthcare places has been, broken down by establishment, in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the form requested. The available data is collected on the numbers of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in national health service units, and does not include independent sector beds. The data is not broken down by establishment.
	Data on the average daily number of mental health secure unit beds, and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units in England over the last ten years is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Average daily number of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Available mental illness 1,921 1,747 1,882 1,952 1,848 
			 Occupancy mental illness 1,566 1,578 1,750 1,792 1,699 
			 Available learning disability 439 422 404 431 407 
			 Occupancy learning disability 404 326 359 408 381 
		
	
	
		
			  Average daily number of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Available mental illness 2,064 2,569 2,696 2,807 2,993 
			 Occupancy mental illness 1,867 2,378 2,472 2,545 2,722 
			 Available learning disability 508 514 503 526 516 
			 Occupancy learning disability 482 470 484 502 489 
			 (1) The definitions of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds, for the purposes of the KH03 annual beds collection, are: Mental illness—Other ages, secure unit an AGE GROUP INTENDED of National Code 8 'Any age', a BROAD PATIENT GROUP CODE of National Code 5 'Patients with mental illness' and a CLINICAL CARE INTENSITY of National Code 51 'for intensive care: specially designated ward for patients needing containment and more intensive management This is not to be confused with intensive nursing where a patient may require one to one nursing while on a standard ward'. Learning disabilities—Other ages, secure unit an AGE GROUP INTENDED of National Code 8 'Any age', a BROAD PATIENT GROUP CODE of National Code 6 'Patients with learning difficulties' and a CLINICAL CARE INTENSITY of National Code 61 'designated or interim secure unit'.  Source: Department of Health Dataset KH03(1). 
		
	
	These figures do not represent the full level of secure services available to the NHS. "Low secure" mental health services are not consistently defined and may well fall outside the definitions used for this data collection. This means that the figures above mainly show the numbers in high and medium secure mental health services in NHS units. These figures also only show NHS beds and not those commissioned by the NHS and provided by independent sector providers.

Seroxat: Children

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 8 March 2008,  Official Report, column 121WS, on GlaxoSmithKline (MHRA investigation), what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority on its investigation of the trials of seroxat involving children between 1994 and 2002.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 Departmental Ministers were briefed on a regular basis on the progress of the investigation into the compliance of GlaxoSmithKline with relevant legislation, and on the conclusion of the investigation, in advance of the written ministerial statement.

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the re-offending rate of recipients of penalty notices for disorder in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Hanson: Re-offending rates for recipients of penalty notices for disorder are not currently measured. Work is currently under way to assess the feasibility of reporting re-offending rates for recipients of penalty notices for disorder. The feasibility study is due to be complete in the summer.
	Adult re-offending measures re-offending for offenders discharged from custody or commencing community sentences, while juvenile re-offending also includes offenders who; received reprimands and final warnings and other court convictions.

National Offender Management Service: Expenditure

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of the National Offender Management Service was in 2006-07.

David Hanson: The cost of the National Offender Management Service in 2006-07 was £4.3 billion resource and £0.4 billion capital expenditure. This includes expenditure on public and private prisons, 42 probation boards and the Youth Justice Board, as well as central policy and administrative functions. The capital expenditure was mainly on the prisons' estate.

Prisoners Transfers

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on prison transfers in each of the last 10 financial years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many prisoners have been transferred between prisons during their sentence since April 2007; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Details of expenditure on inter-prison transfer services by the inter-prison transfer contractor for each financial year since 2001-02 are set out in the following table. Data are not available for financial years 1997-98 to 2000-01.
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			 2001-02 5,390,061 
			 2002-03 5,390,061 
			 2003-04 5,147,078 
			 2004-05 5,798,057 
			 2005-06 5,786,057 
			 2006-07 7,906,739 
			 2007-08 (to February) 7,006,886 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of inter-prison transfers under the inter- prison transfer contract in each month since April 2007. A breakdown of the number of transfers of sentenced and unsentenced prisoners under the inter-prison transfer contract is not held separately.
	
		
			   Inter-prison Transfers 
			 April 2007 5,302 
			 May 2007 6,183 
			 June 2007 6,028 
			 July 2007 7,253 
			 August 2007 6,341 
			 September 2007 6,185 
			 October 2007 6,504 
			 November 2007 6,428 
			 December 2007 5,297 
			 January 2008 6,838 
			 February 2008 6,256 
		
	
	In addition to this there are prisoner transfers that are managed locally. These are not recorded centrally.

Prisoners: Foreigners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign prisoners from each country of origin there were in prisons in England and Wales on 1st March 2008.

Jack Straw: The following table gives a breakdown by nationality of all foreign national prisoners in prison establishments in England and Wales as at 31 December 2007. It is available quarterly as table 5 within the Population in custody monthly published tables at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
	The latest edition containing table 5 is given at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/population-in-custody-dec07.pdf
	The following is the link to the publication schedule for RDS-NOMS publications:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/stats-pub-schedule.htm
	The next bulletin on foreign nationals will be for March 2008, published at the end of April.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Information on the country of origin of individual prisoners is not available, and may not be the same as their nationality.
	
		
			  Population in prison by nationality and sex, England and Wales 31 December 2007 
			  Nationality  Male  Female  Total 
			 All nationalities 75,275 4,330 79,605 
			 UK nationals 64,099 3,264 67,363 
			 Foreign nationals 10,337 974 11,310 
			 Not recorded 840 92 932 
			 
			  Total Africa 2,961 436 3,397 
			 Algeria 161 1 162 
			 Angola 76 4 80 
			 Benin 5 0 5 
			 Botswana 1 1 2 
			 Burundi 8 0 8 
			 Cameroon, United Republic 48 2 49 
			 Cape Verde 1 0 1 
			 Central African Republic 11 3 14 
			 Chad 2 0 2 
			 Congo 123 5 128 
			 Congo, Democratic Republic 33 1 34 
			 Djibouti 1 0 1 
			 Egypt 16 0 16 
			 Ethiopia 54 1 55 
			 Gambia 48 4 52 
			 Ghana 195 34 229 
			 Guinea 18 1 19 
			 Guinea/Bissau 2 0 2 
			 Ivory Coast 35 1 36 
			 Kenya 61 10 71 
			 Liberia 26 9 35 
			 Libya 16 0 16 
			 Madagascar 0 1 1 
			 Malawi 14 3 17 
			 Mali 1 0 1 
			 Mauritania 4 0 4 
			 Mauritius 19 1 20 
			 Morocco 45 1 46 
			 Mozambique 4 1 5 
			 Namibia 4 1 5 
			 Niger 3 0 3 
			 Nigeria 917 229 1,146 
			 Rwanda 17 0 17 
			 Senegal 7 1 8 
			 Sierra Leone 84 6 91 
			 Somalia 382 12 394 
			 South Africa 167 49 216 
			 Sudan 44 3 47 
			 Swaziland 1 0 1 
			 Tanzania 18 2 20 
			 Togo 5 3 8 
			 Tongo 1 0 1 
			 Tunisia 22 2 24 
			 Uganda 77 8 85 
			 Western Sahara 2 0 2 
			 Zambia 14 2 16 
			 Zimbabwe 168 33 200 
			 
			  Total Asia 1,973 131 2,104 
			 Afghanistan 109 1 110 
			 Bangladesh 154 3 157 
			 Burma 5 0 5 
			 Cambodia 1 0 1 
			 China 337 49 386 
			 Hong Kong 4 0 4 
			 India 318 5 323 
			 Indonesia 4 0 4 
			 Japan 0 1 1 
			 Korea, Dem Peoples Rep (Nth) 1 1 2 
			 Korea, Republic of (Sth) 6 0 6 
			 Malaysia 38 7 45 
			 Mongolia 8 0 8 
			 Nepal 3 0 3 
			 Pakistan 397 9 406 
			 Philippines 18 3 21 
			 Singapore 3 3 6 
			 Sri Lanka 143 2 145 
			 Thailand 4 7 11 
			 Vietnam 420 40 460 
			 
			  Total Central and South America 294 42 335 
			 Argentina 3 1 4 
			 Belize 2 0 2 
			 Bolivia 6 0 6 
			 Brazil 57 7 64 
			 Chile 10 0 10 
			 Columbia 104 8 112 
			 Costa Rica 2 1 3 
			 Ecuador 12 1 13 
			 El Salvador 0 1 1 
			 French Guyana 3 2 5 
			 Guatemala 4 0 4 
			 Guyana 30 8 38 
			 Honduras 1 0 1 
			 Mexico 25 8 33 
			 Panama 4 0 4 
			 Paraguay 0 1 1 
			 Peru 6 1 7 
			 Surinam 8 1 9 
			 Uruguay 1 0 1 
			 Venezuela 15 2 17 
			 Irish Republic 609 30 639 
			 Italy 88 7 94 
			 Kazakhstan 5 0 5 
			 Kyrgyzstan 3 0 3 
			 Latvia 48 2 50 
			 Lithuania 191 12 203 
			 Macedonia 7 0 7 
			 Malta 8 0 8 
			 Moldova 18 3 21 
			 Netherlands 105 11 116 
			 Norway 4 0 4 
			 Poland 339 20 359 
			 Portugal 175 7 182 
			 Romania 151 21 172 
			 Russia 98 11 109 
			 San Marino 1 0 1 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 100 1 101 
			 Slovakia 24 2 26 
			 Slovenia 5 1 6 
			 Spain 54 7 61 
			 Sweden 10 5 15 
			 Switzerland 6 1 7 
			 Turkey 211 4 215 
			 Turkmenistan 1 0 1 
			 Uzbekistan 3 0 3 
			 
			  Total Middle East 584 5 589 
			 Iran 205 2 207 
			 Iraq 267 1 268 
			 Israel 24 0 24 
			 Jordan 9 0 9 
			 Kuwait 9 0 9 
			 Lebanon 27 1 28 
			 Oman 1 0 1 
			 Qatar 1 0 1 
			 Saudi Arabia 14 1 15 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 6 0 6 
			 United Arab Emirates 8 0 8 
			 Yemen, Republic of 12 0 12 
			 
			  Total North America 121 10 131 
			 Canada 20 6 26 
			 United States of America 101 4 105 
			   0 0 
			  Total Oceania 44 4 48 
			 Australia 23 3 26 
			 Canton and Enderbury Island 1 0 1 
			 Fiji 9 0 9 
			 French Southern Territories 2 0 2 
			 Kiribati 1 0 1 
			 New Zealand 8 1 9 
			 
			  Total West Indies 1,399 140 1,539 
			 Anguilla 1 0 1 
			 Bahamas 4 0 4 
			 Barbados 34 2 36 
			 Bermuda 3 0 3 
			 Cayman Islands 1 0 1 
			 Cuba 5 0 5 
			 Dominica 10 2 12 
			 Dominican Republic 8 2 10 
			 Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis 2 0 2 
			 Grenada 13 4 17 
			 Haiti 3 0 3 
			 Jamaica 1,185 93 1,278 
			 Montserrat 20 1 21 
			 Netherlands Antilles 7 5 12 
			 St. Lucia 25 8 32 
			 St. Vincent and The Grenadines 9 2 11 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 69 21 90 
			   0 0 
			 
			  Total other 4 0 4 
			  Data Sources and Quality:  These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that level.

Young Offenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persistent young offenders are registered; and how many and what proportion of total offences there were in which the offender was a persistent young offender in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: Statistics on Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) are available from 1997 to 2007. These figures are derived from police national computer data, and monitor the pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with PYOs in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days.
	The following table shows the number of PYOs in England and Wales in each year since 1997. It also shows the number of cases involving such offenders and the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with them. Data in this table are published as national statistics by the Ministry of Justice.
	
		
			  Key statistics on persistent young offenders (PYO), 1997  to  2007 
			   Number of PYOs  Number of PYO convictions  Arrest to sentence interval (days) 
			 1997 9,868 16,010 141 
			 1998 11,079 18,605 125 
			 1999 12,014 21,151 108 
			 2000 13,094 23,130 93 
			 2001 13,854 25,393 76 
			 2002 14,244 26,116 68 
			 2003 14,242 26,083 66 
			 2004 14,403 26,363 69 
			 2005 14,725 27,037 68 
			 2006 15,528 28,252 72 
			 2007 16,512 30,683 65 
		
	
	It should be noted that the increase in the number of people who meet the definition of a PYO is partly a consequence of the large improvements in the timeliness of dealing with such offenders. The definition of a PYO relies on counting successive sentencing occasions for a single offender during a limited time period. Speedier operation of the youth justice system has markedly reduced the average time taken from arrest to sentence, and as a result the number of young offenders who fall within the scope of this definition has increased. This was a particular issue from 1997 to 2002, the period during which these timeliness improvements were taking effect.
	Information is not available on the total number offences committed by PYOs. However, information is available on the number of convictions handed down to these offenders, and the following table therefore shows the proportion of total notifiable offences brought to justice that is attributable to court convictions of PYOs. Please note that data on the numbers of offences brought to justice is only presently available for the years 2000 to 2006 inclusive.
	
		
			  Persistent young offender (PYO) convictions as a proportion of notifiable offences brought to justice, 2000-06 
			Court convictions of PYOs 
			   Offences brought to justice  Number  Percentage 
			 2000 1,012.722 23,130 2.28 
			 2001 1,001.301 25,393 2.54 
			 2002 1,031.214 26,116 2.53 
			 2003 1,059.663 26,083 2.46 
			 2004 1,124.574 26,363 2.34 
			 2005 1,276.969 27,037 2.12 
			 2006 1,408.547 28,252 2.01 
		
	
	The Criminal Justice System area breakdowns are in the following table.
	
		
			  Persistent Young Offender (PYO) convictions as a proportion of notifiable offences brought to justice, 2000-06 
			Number of convictions of persistent young offenders 
			   CJS area name  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 0 England and Wales(1) 23,130 25,393 26,116 26,083 26,363 27,037 28,252 
			 1 Metropolitan 2,009 2,291 2,236 2,069 2,205 2,133 2,549 
			 3 Cumbria 305 300 318 337 321 352 415 
			 4 Lancashire 830 843 1,089 1,035 945 1,078 1,216 
			 5 Merseyside 820 966 999 1,015 1,042 835 797 
			 6 Greater Manchester 1,875 2,290 2,165 1,866 1,885 2,101 2,251 
			 7 Cheshire 378 389 449 438 495 530 483 
			 10 Northumbria 1,539 1,612 1,498 1,620 1,518 1,619 1,730 
			 11 Durham 545 464 506 414 328 382 457 
			 12 North Yorkshire 282 280 282 305 333 333 380 
			 13 West Yorkshire 1,367 1,327 1,309 1,432 1,623 1,676 1,575 
			 14 South Yorkshire 696 645 717 713 738 701 646 
			 16 Humberside 412 494 419 501 626 647 653 
			 17 Cleveland 496 506 557 389 396 382 419 
			 20 West Midlands 1,663 1,839 1,759 1,807 1,743 1,456 1,401 
			 21 Staffordshire 400 464 419 516 511 517 515 
			 22 West Mercia 392 414 458 446 501 508 628 
			 23 Warwickshire 145 193 172 145 142 177 225 
			 30 Derbyshire 322 411 403 392 414 416 433 
			 31 Nottinghamshire 669 689 687 671 581 703 709 
			 32 Lincolnshire 228 242 229 260 221 171 199 
			 33 Leicestershire 374 421 459 448 315 466 439 
			 34 Northamptonshire 298 288 282 254 239 243 235 
			 35 Cambridgeshire 267 245 283 342 273 315 310 
			 36 Norfolk 268 278 256 294 258 220 271 
			 37 Suffolk 213 285 363 390 446 491 423 
			 40 Bedfordshire 160 142 127 160 225 189 172 
			 41 Hertfordshire 199 209 246 276 339 362 356 
			 42 Essex 455 479 470 451 514 654 736 
			 43 Thames Valley 455 559 659 561 500 636 721 
			 44 Hampshire 1,079 1,052 1,236 1,184 1,207 1,128 1,116 
			 45 Surrey 175 235 219 194 239 249 258 
			 46 Kent 480 614 619 715 654 673 686 
			 47 Sussex 242 335 414 465 615 762 828 
			 50 Devon and Cornwall 299 418 434 504 576 518 485 
			 52 Avon and Somerset 314 449 496 482 456 564 612 
			 53 Gloucestershire 135 183 188 194 199 215 285 
			 54 Wiltshire 151 166 192 203 222 206 202 
			 55 Dorset 109 141 183 219 215 243 274 
			 60 North Wales 273 346 426 451 438 386 402 
			 61 Gwent 341 336 325 372 420 396 409 
			 62 South Wales 1,082 1,111 1,100 1,018 900 869 719 
			 63 Dyfed Powys 158 212 225 242 199 228 264 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			Proportion of convictions of persistent young offenders from all notifiable offences brought to justice 
			   CJS area name  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 0 England and Wales(1) 2.28 2.54 2.53 2.46 2.34 2.12 2.01 
			 1 Metropolitan 1.60 1.92 1.70 1.60 1.61 1.27 1.26 
			 3 Cumbria 2.99 3.15 3.15 3.11 2.73 2.79 3.23 
			 4 Lancashire 2.76 2.82 3.47 3.32 2.74 2.75 2.48 
			 5 Merseyside 2.70 3.31 3.45 3.19 3.08 2.02 1.82 
			 6 Greater Manchester 3.12 4.00 3.86 3.25 2.79 2.89 2.73 
			 7 Cheshire 2.23 2.58 2.86 2.64 2.89 2.36 1.94 
			 10 Northumbria 3.81 3.97 3.68 3.80 3.94 3.96 3.57 
			 11 Durham 4.28 3.56 3.70 3.24 2.71 2.84 2.94 
			 12 North Yorkshire 2.25 2.32 2.32 2.32 2.23 2.14 2.51 
			 13 West Yorkshire 2.61 2.83 2.76 2.98 2.63 2.33 2.38 
			 14 South Yorkshire 2.68 2.62 2.92 2.60 2.52 1.93 1.56 
			 16 Humberside 2.23 2.82 2.47 2.66 2.87 2.69 2.51 
			 17 Cleveland 3.39 3.45 3.67 2.61 2.67 2.32 2.03 
			 20 West Midlands 2.31 2.43 2.21 2.25 2.48 2.06 1.84 
			 21 Staffordshire 1.78 2.23 1.80 2.21 2.23 2.00 1.84 
			 22 West Mercia 1.91 1.91 2.08 2.01 2.08 1.84 2.13 
			 23 Warwickshire 2.10 2.38 2.23 1.68 1.55 1.69 1.82 
			 30 Derbyshire 2.00 2.40 2.19 2.19 2.23 1.97 2.04 
			 31 Nottinghamshire 2.54 2.76 2.97 2.72 2.35 2.56 2.36 
			 32 Lincolnshire 2.63 2.35 2.11 2.44 1.97 1.19 1.31 
			 33 Leicestershire 2.11 2.21 2.56 2.33 1.43 1.86 1.61 
			 34 Northamptonshire 2.13 2.18 2.25 1.97 1.78 2.00 1.57 
			 35 Cambridgeshire 2.24 2.25 2.32 2.64 2.20 2.02 1.77 
			 36 Norfolk 1.93 2.19 1.95 2.15 1.70 1.38 1.46 
			 37 Suffolk 1.82 2.47 3.03 2.93 2.97 3.21 2.44 
			 40 Bedfordshire 1.55 1.24 1.10 1.45 1.89 1.43 1.26 
			 41 Hertfordshire 1.49 1.53 1.65 1.70 1.76 1.93 1.32 
			 42 Essex 2.28 2.27 2.14 1.92 2.03 1.97 1.95 
			 43 Thames Valley 1.50 1.81 1.93 1.73 1.38 1.18 1.40 
			 44 Hampshire 3.34 3.32 3.85 3.58 3.23 2.95 2.90 
			 45 Surrey 1.67 1.93 1.91 1.51 1.35 1.58 1.47 
			 46 Kent 1.80 2.44 2.53 2.53 2.24 1.99 1.87 
			 47 Sussex 1.21 1.53 1.83 1.97 2.26 2.37 2.44 
			 50 Devon and Cornwall 1.18 1.67 1.60 1.84 2.06 1.68 1.47 
			 52 Avon and Somerset 1.21 1.73 1.83 1.80 1.74 1.64 1.60 
			 53 Gloucestershire 1.06 1.40 1.43 1.46 1.65 1.51 1.76 
			 54 Wiltshire 1.42 1.53 1.92 1.80 1.93 1.70 1.67 
			 55 Dorset 0.97 1.26 1.63 2.02 1.37 1.50 1.63 
			 60 North Wales 2.08 2.75 3.22 3.34 2.97 2.45 2.19 
			 61 Gwent 2.00 1.92 2.00 2.21 2.65 2.64 2.30 
			 62 South Wales 3.56 3.76 3.61 3.22 2.87 2.88 2.43 
			 63 Dyfed Powys 1.44 1.87 1.91 1.93 1.83 1.75 1.92 
			 (1) The England and Wales totals include cases dealt with by the British Transport Police or else are not assigned to a local constabulary. 
		
	
	Further information on persistent young offenders can be found on the dedicated page of the Ministry of Justice website:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/averagetimearresttosentencepyo.htm

Borders and Immigration Agency: Expenditure

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on enforcement action by the Borders and Immigration Agency and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and what proportion was attributed to activity against individuals involved in identity theft or identity fraud involving document abuse.

Liam Byrne: Enforcement action consists of many stages in the end-to-end process of resolving a case. It can include policy work, caseworking, inquiries abroad, intelligence work, legal advice, support costs, operations, detention, escorts the cost of charters and other flights used to effect removal, and ministerial and senior officials' time. Such costs are spread across a number of cost centres within the Agency and its predecessor and are not functionally recorded on a case-by-case basis. The information requested could therefore be provided only by the detailed analysis of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
	The Border and Immigration Agency's budget allocations are not made or recorded on a detailed activity basis and therefore it is not possible to give a definitive figure for the proportion of budget attributed to activity against individuals involved in identity theft or identity fraud involving document abuse. However, action against such theft or fraud is an important part of our Enforcement Strategy, published in March 2007.
	Copies of the document are placed in the Libraries of both houses. It is available to view at:
	http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/enforcementstrategy/
	Latest published statistics on the total spend in the Home Office are set out in the Home Office report a copy of which has also been placed in both Houses. It is also available to view at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/ho-annual-report-07?view=Binary

Departmental Complaints

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any complaints investigated by  (a) her Department and  (b) the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration resulted in findings of wrong-doing by Home Office employees or its contractors' employees, including immigration removal centre and immigration escort staff in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: BIA does not currently hold this data, and the cost of extracting it from records would be disproportionate. However, of the 52 serious complaints investigated since 1 October 2006 in relation to escorting contractors, only one has been substantiated and seven have been partially substantiated.

Driving: Insurance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) successful prosecutions,  (b) cautions and  (c) issues of fixed penalty notices there were relating to uninsured drivers in each police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the average penalty was.

Vernon Coaker: The available information relates to the offence of 'use of a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks'. Tables A and B provide data on successful prosecutions (findings of guilt) and covers court imposed fines from 1997 to 2005 (latest available). Table C covers fixed penalty notices issued as from 1 June 2003, when a fixed penalty became available for the offence, to 2005.
	The written warnings (including formal cautions) collection, held by the Ministry of Justice, is unable to identify this offence from others within the offence group "vehicle insurance offences". None of the Ministry's collections separately identify uninsured drivers involved in other motoring offences.
	2006 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Table A: Proceedings and findings of guilt at magistrates courts for the office of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1)  by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005 
			  Number and percentage 
			   1997  1998  1999 
			Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt 
			  Police force area  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage 
			 Avon and Somerset 15,354 9,424 61 16,892 9,875 58 15,098 9,357 62 
			 Bedfordshire 4,724 2,951 62 4,449 2,992 67 3,479 2,328 67 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,440 2,395 70 3,425 2,507 73 3,058 2,233 73 
			 Cheshire 4,838 3,499 72 4,961 3,658 74 5,463 3,872 71 
			 Cleveland 3,925 2,798 71 4,204 2,908 69 4,331 3,027 70 
			 Cumbria 4,223 3,089 73 3,787 2,866 76 3,597 2,772 77 
			 Derbyshire 5,565 3,830 69 5,137 3,522 69 5,120 3,613 71 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,422 4,967 59 7,232 4,263 59 7,493 4,681 62 
			 Dorset 5,271 3,458 66 4,198 2,777 66 4,776 3,013 63 
			 Durham 3,992 2,912 73 4,261 3,086 72 5,899 4,475 76 
			 Essex 7,161 4,507 63 7,025 4,635 66 7,336 5,035 69 
			 Gloucestershire 3,577 2,115 59 4,465 2,885 65 4,443 2,867 65 
			 Greater Manchester 30,655 20,548 67 30,836 21,430 69 33,228 23,697 71 
			 Hampshire 11,768 7,844 67 11,557 8,028 69 11,553 8,123 70 
			 Hertfordshire 4,580 2,573 56 5,799 3,056 53 4,748 2,789 59 
			 Humberside 4,408 3,479 79 4,279 3,501 82 4,894 3,920 80 
			 Kent 6,935 4,755 69 6,958 4,808 69 6,151 4,232 69 
			 Lancashire 20,334 11,577 57 18,794 11,198 60 18,111 10,800 60 
			 Leicestershire 9,706 5,990 62 9,481 6,265 66 11,054 7,281 66 
			 Lincolnshire 4,589 3,001 65 5,000 3,466 69 5,345 3,744 70 
			 London, City of 2,671 1,382 52 3,127 1,431 46 2,521 1,141 45 
			 Merseyside 10,896 8,435 77 9,747 7,694 79 8,932 6,920 77 
			 Metropolitan Police 42,283 25,873 61 35,064 22,874 65 31,285 20,893 67 
			 Norfolk 3,932 3,456 88 3,434 3,060 89 3,468 3,000 87 
			 Northamptonshire 4,999 3,083 62 4,849 3,271 67 5,571 4,151 75 
			 Northumbria 12,470 8,064 65 11,837 8,079 68 13,296 9,299 70 
			 North Yorkshire 3,926 2,778 71 3,744 2,538 68 4,003 2,656 66 
			 Nottinghamshire 8,078 6,149 76 8,726 6,658 76 7,957 6,156 77 
			 South Yorkshire 11,228 7,346 65 11,553 7,831 68 11,763 8,424 72 
			 Staffordshire 8,180 5,251 64 8,210 5,379 66 8,021 5,725 71 
			 Suffolk 3,258 2,202 68 3,743 2,283 61 4,189 2,547 61 
			 Surrey 4,942 2,439 49 3,908 2,051 52 4,436 2,278 51 
			 Sussex 9,333 4,726 51 8,202 4,150 51 7,415 4,198 57 
			 Thames Valley 11,887 6,258 53 11,948 6,311 53 13,543 7,291 54 
			 Warwickshire 4,316 2,595 60 3,769 2,394 64 3,523 2,192 62 
			 West Mercia 7,082 4,848 68 8,207 5,624 69 7,450 5,224 70 
			 West Midlands 29,878 18,484 62 30,928 18,969 61 27,409 16,407 60 
			 West Yorkshire 23,980 15,042 63 23,549 14,682 62 25,776 15,903 62 
			 Wiltshire 3,463 2,311 67 4,820 2,712 56 4,708 2,558 54 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,079 1,953 63 2,852 1,952 68 3,017 2,044 68 
			 Gwent 4,097 2,899 71 4,478 3,344 75 4,451 3,452 78 
			 North Wales 4,859 3,280 68 4,452 3,309 74 4,102 3,097 75 
			 South Wales 14,829 9,936 67 16,187 10,629 66 15,406 10,467 68 
			 England and Wales 397,133 254,502 64 390,074 254,951 65 387,419 257,882 67 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage 
			   2000  2001  2002 
			Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt 
			  Police force area  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage 
			 Avon and Somerset 14,609 9,515 65 13,022 8,393 64 15,124 9,700 64 
			 Bedfordshire 3,594 2,307 64 4,651 2,895 62 4,731 3,147 67 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,929 2,216 76 2,508 1,967 78 2,875 2,266 79 
			 Cheshire 5,729 4,075 71 4,975 3,885 78 5,765 4,540 79 
			 Cleveland 4,793 3,573 75 4,789 3,606 75 5,994 4,282 71 
			 Cumbria 3,507 2,684 77 3,595 2,887 80 3,540 2,876 81 
			 Derbyshire 5,318 3,914 74 5,429 4,218 78 5,614 4,670 83 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9,234 5,872 64 8,648 5,723 66 9,598 6,354 66 
			 Dorset 6,035 3,540 59 5,262 2,965 56 6,176 3,371 55 
			 Durham 5,470 4,328 79 5,394 4,343 81 5,840 4,614 79 
			 Essex 7,898 5,328 67 7,708 5,388 70 7,811 5,359 69 
			 Gloucestershire 4,174 2,539 61 4,683 2,677 57 4,417 2,286 52 
			 Greater Manchester 33,783 23,865 71 37,088 26,399 71 36,337 27,527 76 
			 Hampshire 10,559 7,535 71 10,349 7,614 74 10,912 8,063 74 
			 Hertfordshire 5,258 3,310 63 5,816 3,672 63 6,612 4,191 63 
			 Humberside 5,024 4,043 80 4,730 3,641 77 4,464 3,551 80 
			 Kent 9,033 6,408 71 9,592 7,042 73 10,059 7,697 77 
			 Lancashire 18,354 10,981 60 16,280 9,748 60 17,555 11,020 63 
			 Leicestershire 10,263 6,713 65 10,475 6,792 65 10,699 7,372 69 
			 Lincolnshire 4,500 3,307 73 4,083 2,956 72 4,242 3,057 72 
			 London, City of 1,738 776 45 1,826 1,020 56 2,353 1,330 57 
			 Merseyside 10,054 7,708 77 9,467 7,693 81 10,360 8,551 83 
			 Metropolitan Police 29,649 20,117 68 32,032 22,566 70 36,485 27,116 74 
			 Norfolk 3,951 2,844 72 4,744 3,033 64 5,563 3,590 65 
			 Northamptonshire 3,949 2,971 75 2,028 1,626 80 1,211 885 73 
			 Northumbria 13,195 9,385 71 12,504 9,184 73 12,309 9,286 75 
			 North Yorkshire 3,905 2,548 65 3,545 2,171 61 3,340 2,096 63 
			 Nottinghamshire 7,748 6,034 78 7,856 6,181 79 7,460 5,922 79 
			 South Yorkshire 12,690 8,871 70 14,623 10,079 69 13,859 9,975 72 
			 Staffordshire 8,777 6,740 77 6,027 4,678 78 7,056 5,723 81 
			 Suffolk 3,923 2,319 59 4,123 2,373 58 4,759 2,845 60 
			 Surrey 4,941 2,571 52 5,101 2,804 55 5,554 3,145 57 
			 Sussex 6,796 3,777 56 6,814 3,995 59 6,413 3,698 58 
			 Thames Valley 12,816 7,426 58 11,728 7,092 60 12,842 8,283 64 
			 Warwickshire 4,135 2,309 56 4,204 2,665 63 3,711 2,389 64 
			 West Mercia 7,686 5,512 72 7,787 5,731 74 7,849 5,812 74 
			 West Midlands 28,148 17,896 64 27,010 18,066 67 32,339 22,010 68 
			 West Yorkshire 26,529 15,476 58 27,618 15,842 57 24,873 13,952 56 
			 Wiltshire 4,901 2,620 53 5,292 3,264 62 5,326 3,162 59 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,072 2,073 67 2,953 1,906 65 3,316 2,275 69 
			 Gwent 4,680 3,777 81 4,758 3,817 80 4,508 3,660 81 
			 North Wales 3,697 2,839 77 3,376 2,551 76 4,048 2,987 74 
			 South Wales 14,615 10,273 70 13,805 9,721 70 16,499 11,488 70 
			 England and Wales 391,659 262,915 67 388,298 264,869 68 410,398 286,123 70 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage 
			   2003( 2)  2004  2005 
			Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt 
			  Police force area  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage 
			 Avon and Somerset 17,163 10,558 62 17,489 10,862 62 14,625 8,688 59 
			 Bedfordshire 5,041 3,490 69 4,534 3,190 70 4,776 3,334 70 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,301 2,694 82 3,120 2,654 85 3,371 2,827 84 
			 Cheshire 6,385 5,354 84 6,515 5,372 82 4,592 3,871 84 
			 Cleveland 5,575 3,980 71 6,597 5,080 77 4,611 3,819 83 
			 Cumbria 3,488 2,849 82 3,446 2,753 80 2,855 2,199 77 
			 Derbyshire 5,793 4,888 84 6,326 5,505 87 5,869 5,190 88 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9,676 6,608 68 8,943 6,178 69 7,404 5,241 71 
			 Dorset 7,034 4,263 61 6,075 3,618 60 5,752 3,584 62 
			 Durham 5,802 4,518 78 5,300 4,029 76 4,454 3,186 72 
			 Essex 7,489 5,440 73 7,132 5,323 75 7,035 5,413 77 
			 Gloucestershire 4,412 2,579 58 3,695 2,438 66 3,500 2,042 58 
			 Greater Manchester 38,208 29,559 77 34,942 26,722 76 30,280 22,869 76 
			 Hampshire 10,619 8,095 76 9,750 7,467 77 7,882 6,251 79 
			 Hertfordshire 7,216 5,078 70 7,463 5,382 72 7,763 5,716 74 
			 Humberside 5,509 4,411 80 5,170 4,298 83 4,840 4,136 85 
			 Kent 9,788 7,452 76 10,673 8,347 78 8,535 7,050 83 
			 Lancashire 21,229 13,689 64 16,065 9,948 62 17,960 10,945 61 
			 Leicestershire 11,304 8,066 71 10,833 7,790 72 7,306 5,340 73 
			 Lincolnshire 5,883 4,269 73 6,621 4,766 72 5,644 3,907 69 
			 London, City of 2,563 1,605 63 2,812 1,122 40 1,499 1,068 71 
			 Merseyside 12,776 10,627 83 13,023 10,385 80 10,728 8,757 82 
			 Metropolitan Police 43,100 31,463 73 47,806 36,465 76 47,223 36,033 76 
			 Norfolk 6,322 4,461 71 5,084 3,734 73 4,442 3,436 77 
			 Northamptonshire 4,157 3,242 78 5,804 4,641 80 4,441 3,606 81 
			 Northumbria 12,951 9,826 76 11,685 9,106 78 11,728 9,348 80 
			 North Yorkshire 3,774 2,353 62 4,065 2,508 62 3,865 2,569 66 
			 Nottinghamshire 9,224 7,609 82 9,224 7,755 84 7,358 6,299 86 
			 South Yorkshire 13,745 9,882 72 11,416 8,497 74 11,246 8,484 75 
			 Staffordshire 7,214 6,072 84 7,439 6,317 85 7,224 5,959 82 
			 Suffolk 5,808 3,579 62 5,718 3,541 62 4,279 2,738 64 
			 Surrey 4,657 2,880 62 3,927 2,581 66 4,491 2,874 64 
			 Sussex 5,808 3,665 63 4,371 3,068 70 4,569 3,370 74 
			 Thames Valley 14,516 9,718 67 12,920 9,144 71 11,255 7,887 70 
			 Warwickshire 3,756 2,899 77 4,160 3,433 83 3,469 2,958 85 
			 West Mercia 7,735 6,014 78 7,249 5,498 76 7,144 5,604 78 
			 West Midlands 36,409 25,370 70 39,696 27,453 69 34,786 24,890 72 
			 West Yorkshire 26,966 16,967 63 32,404 20,175 62 26,667 16,220 61 
			 Wiltshire 4,794 3,006 63 4,641 2,778 60 4,599 2,814 61 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,094 2,236 72 2,244 1,645 73 2,639 1,890 72 
			 Gwent 4,083 3,448 84 3,474 2,961 85 3,241 2,761 85 
			 North Wales 5,968 4,523 76 6,022 4,773 79 4,211 3,331 79 
			 South Wales 16,932 11,650 69 15,946 11,143 70 12,605 8,694 69 
			 England and Wales 447,267 320,935 72 441,819 320,445 73 392,763 287,198 73 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (2) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Average fine imposed( 1)  at magistrates courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 2)  by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005 
			  £ 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003( 3)  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 259 204 165 182 130 133 138 154 154 
			 Bedfordshire 314 293 274 226 164 169 137 143 156 
			 Cambridgeshire 221 209 215 182 119 118 131 152 171 
			 Cheshire 274 248 237 211 149 153 167 179 190 
			 Cleveland 162 167 170 179 167 173 171 189 202 
			 Cumbria 150 171 220 265 152 151 159 169 171 
			 Derbyshire 270 279 283 296 337 355 367 367 376 
			 Devon and Cornwall 184 185 178 179 133 132 127 134 145 
			 Dorset 295 302 301 261 121 114 125 158 171 
			 Durham 181 177 194 160 118 122 121 116 123 
			 Essex 174 149 140 123 101 104 112 164 182 
			 Gloucestershire 154 202 247 240 91 86 133 147 143 
			 Greater Manchester 245 226 236 232 152 151 157 167 176 
			 Hampshire 132 135 138 136 119 122 124 131 138 
			 Hertfordshire 193 164 173 204 155 166 181 198 208 
			 Humberside 159 148 143 137 122 132 137 150 180 
			 Kent 246 241 227 271 209 192 191 197 204 
			 Lancashire 332 296 237 219 111 113 141 156 169 
			 Leicestershire 318 318 276 254 134 135 138 150 145 
			 Lincolnshire 159 197 209 188 133 134 148 179 185 
			 London, City of 332 314 346 375 369 368 334 230 198 
			 Merseyside 200 203 200 207 163 167 148 137 141 
			 Metropolitan Police 202 185 184 169 139 140 143 147 165 
			 Norfolk 242 256 265 210 99 107 139 152 152 
			 Northamptonshire 243 286 310 280 280 339 245 183 156 
			 Northumbria 136 146 148 144 130 135 135 137 142 
			 North Yorkshire 249 236 230 211 130 136 141 166 177 
			 Nottinghamshire 164 165 153 150 152 156 152 188 138 
			 South Yorkshire 194 206 191 170 128 137 146 125 147 
			 Staffordshire 251 228 234 198 152 163 166 186 230 
			 Suffolk 193 192 192 183 128 138 133 136 156 
			 Surrey 243 242 215 218 201 215 221 197 195 
			 Sussex 218 186 181 167 118 117 138 162 170 
			 Thames Valley 292 257 268 250 134 135 158 198 206 
			 Warwickshire 228 175 177 188 156 168 164 210 200 
			 West Mercia 268 282 282 263 176 180 165 193 208 
			 West Midlands 207 190 189 201 169 192 200 206 207 
			 West Yorkshire 255 242 242 209 120 123 134 144 144 
			 Wiltshire 152 182 186 204 283 286 280 200 208 
			 Dyfed-Powys 183 182 175 169 155 166 172 187 184 
			 Gwent 253 225 225 208 148 154 171 157 171 
			 North Wales 210 226 272 230 144 150 149 154 163 
			 South Wales 190 180 183 188 159 173 158 154 149 
			 England and Wales 224 214 212 203 150 155 160 169 177 
			 (1) Magistrates courts data only. Fines given at the Crown court total nationally (England and Wales) less than 10 each year. (2) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (3) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Fixed Penalty Notices issued for the endorsable offence of 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks'( 1)  by police force area, England and Wales, 2003( 2)  to 2005 
			  Police force area  2003( 3)  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 5 47 63 
			 Bedfordshire — — 62 
			 Cambridgeshire — 63 53 
			 Cheshire — 40 101 
			 Cleveland 48 70 159 
			 Cumbria — — — 
			 Derbyshire — — — 
			 Devon and Cornwall — — 42 
			 Dorset — — —- 
			 Durham — — 7 
			 Essex — — 6 
			 Gloucestershire — — — 
			 Greater Manchester 9 44 13 
			 Hampshire — 111 125 
			 Hertfordshire 11 177 389 
			 Humberside — — — 
			 Kent 10 12 31 
			 Lancashire 42 91 174 
			 Leicestershire 34 62 19 
			 Lincolnshire — — — 
			 London, City of 2 21 9 
			 Merseyside — — — 
			 Metropolitan Police 43 147 490 
			 Norfolk — — — 
			 Northamptonshire 5 40 93 
			 Northumbria 38 7 4 
			 North Yorkshire 33 95 92 
			 Nottinghamshire 21 42 101 
			 South Yorkshire — — — 
			 Staffordshire 36 122 152 
			 Suffolk — — — 
			 Surrey — 0 — 
			 Sussex — — — 
			 Thames Valley —- — — 
			 Warwickshire 31 50 70 
			 West Mercia — — 32 
			 West Midlands — 37 — 
			 West Yorkshire 3 46 104 
			 Wiltshire — — — 
			 Dyfed-Powys — — — 
			 Gwent — — — 
			 North Wales 87 139 297 
			 South Wales — — — 
			 England and Wales 458 1,463 2,688 
			 1 An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) 2 As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. Offenders are subject to a £200 fixed penalty However this can be increased to a maximum of £5,000 if the matter goes to court. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Immigration Officers: Sick Leave

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers were granted sick leave for stress in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The numbers of Immigration Officers(1) who have taken sick leave for stress in each of the last three calendar years, recorded on our personnel system (Adelphi) are shown in the following table.
	We are unable to provide accurate data previous to 2005 as this was not recorded centrally.
	(1)( )"Immigration Officers" are purely those who held that particular grade during the period.
	
		
			  Immigration Officers taking sick leave 
			   Number 
			 2005 109 
			 2006 91 
			 2007 141

Members: Correspondence

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer Question 175239, tabled by the hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 13 December 2007.

Jacqui Smith: I replied to the right hon. Member on 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 78W.

Energy: Meters

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what his most recent assessment is of the  (a) costs and  (b) benefits of a national delivery plan for smart metering;
	(2)  what conclusions were made following the review of smart metering conducted for his Department by Mott McDonald; and if he will publish the outcomes of the review.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 March 2008
	My Department is finalising its impact assessment of smart metering, including costs and benefits. We are testing our assessment and the assumptions underpinning it with interested parties, and will publish our assessment when that process has been completed. We will also publish the analysis undertaken by Mott MacDonald.

Fuel Poverty: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) households including at least one child and  (b) households were classified as living in fuel poverty in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) nationally in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 17 March 2008
	Splits of the level of fuel poverty by the household composition of the primary benefit unit or age of the youngest/oldest member of the household are not available at a sub-national level. The detailed tables which accompany the "Fuel Poverty Strategy Report" hold information on household composition of the primary benefit unit and age of the youngest/oldest member of the household on national level only. This data is published annually with the earliest figures covering 2003, the latest figures cover 2005. It is available online through http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html. The following table holds extracted details:
	
		
			   F uel poor households in group 
			   Thousand 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			 Household Composition (of primary benefit unit) — — — 
			 Couple with dependent child(ren) 53 54 83 
			 Lone parent with dependent child(ren) 98 91 116 
		
	
	Regional estimates of fuel poverty are available only for England in 2003 and are taken from the Fuel Poverty Indicator (FPI) dataset available online at http://www.fuelpovertyindicator.org.uk/. This estimates that there were 2,400 fuel poor households in Ribble Valley and 39,300 in Lancashire.
	National fuel poverty rates are published annually and are again available online through the BERR website at http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html.
	The report shows the following table outlining national level of fuel poverty since 1996:
	
		
			  Number of households in fuel poverty (million) 
			   1996  1998( 1)  2001  2002( 1)  2003  2004  2005 
			 England 5.1 (5.5) 3.4 (4.0) 1.7 (2.3) 1.4 (2.0) 1.2 (1.5) 1.2 (1.5) 1.5 (1.8) 
			 Scotland 0.7 — — 0.3 0.4 0.4 — 
			 Wales — 0.4 — — — 0.1 — 
			 Northern Ireland — — 0.2 — — 0.2 — 
			 UK estimate (approx.) 6&frac12; 4&frac34; 2&frac12; 2&frac14; 2 2 2&frac12; 
			  (7&frac12;) (5&frac34;) (3&frac12;) (2&frac34;) (2&frac12;) (2&frac12;) (3) 
			 (1) Figures for England in 1998 and 2002 are estimates based on movements in energy prices, incomes and energy efficiency. Figures in brackets do not include housing benefit/ISMI as part of income.

Civil Service Appeal Board

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement.

Bill Rammell: It is not possible to provide the response for the period prior to the creation of this Department as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. However, since then there have been no instances of appeals by employees being lodged with the Civil Service Board for decision.

Students: Disabled

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many equal and lower qualification students with disabilities were studying less than 50 per cent. of a full course in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: About 6,300 students were recorded as having a disability were studying at less than 0.5 of a full-course for equivalent or lower level qualifications (ELQ) to ones they already hold in 2005/06—the latest year for which data are available. All existing ELQ students will continue to be supported but the progressive redistribution of funding away from ELQ students will enable us over time to support more of the 5 million people of working age with a disability but without a first higher education qualification than would otherwise be possible, especially the 900,000 or so with level 3 qualifications who have not progressed to level 4.

Students: Females

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of equal and lower qualification students were female in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: About 70,000 women were studying for equivalent or lower level qualifications (ELQ) to ones they already hold in 2006/07—the latest year for which data is available. This represents a little under 60 per cent. of the total number of ELQ students, and that proportion is broadly the same as the overall male/female balance within higher education. The progressive redistribution of funding away from ELQ students will enable us to support more of the 10 million women without a first higher education qualification than would otherwise be possible, especially the two million women with level 3 qualifications who have not progressed to level 4.

Vocational Education: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to increase the provision of technical and vocational training and education in Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council for Cambridgeshire have undertaken a review of their provision of technical and vocational training and education. As a result they have increased their apprenticeship contracted in-learning volume by 10 per cent. in 2007/08 and introduced apprenticeships for people aged 25 years plus. The LSC is already planning further increases in provision for 2008/09 based on the needs identified in their review. The Government have laid out its plans for improving the quality of technical and vocational education training for both young people and adults in apprenticeships in "World-class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All".
	To support this challenging agenda the Government are increasing apprenticeship funding by a quarter to £1 billion by 2010/11.

Social Services: Inspections

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of Commission for Social Care inspections was in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	We have been informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the information requested is not available in the form requested. CSCI is funded via a combination of registration fees charged to providers of care and grant in aid from the Department. It is not possible to specify the source of funds spent on inspection activities. The available information on CSCI funding is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ thousand 
			  Source of funding  Departmental revenue  Departmental capital charges  Other income  Total budget  Departmental capital 
			 2003-04 94,320 10,752 46,290 151,362 3,000 
			 2004-05 98,005 10,000 44,402 152,407 2,000 
			 2005-06 86,430 14,490 56,755 157,675 6,000 
			 2006-07 80,984 15,840 64,500 161,324 19,978 
			 2007-08 65,371 12,261 58,600 136,232 18,707 
			  Notes: 1. CSCI was being set up in 2003-04. Its predecessor organisation was National Care Standards Commission. 2. Figures for revenue and capital are grant-in-aid issued by the Department and are the start of year figures. Figures for income are derived from CSCI annual accounts. 3. 'Other income' represents income largely from regulatory fees. 4. Figures for CSCI up to 2006-07 include the cost of children's social services functions transferred to Ofsted on 1 April 2007.  Source: Department of Health.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children living in the Furtherwick school catchment area of Canvey Island have not secured a place at their first option for a secondary school in 2008;
	(2)  how many children did not secure a place at their first option for a secondary school on Canvey Island in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many children living in the Furtherwick secondary school catchment area of Canvey Island have not secured their second choice of school for September 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is the first year that local authorities have been required to provide data to the Secretary of State on secondary school offers made to parents on national offer day. This data was published on the DCSF research gateway (www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway) on 11 March 2008 at local authority, regional and national levels. Data has not been collected at constituency or school levels. Figures for Essex local authority, in which Canvey Island is situated, show that 80.8 per cent. (12,986) of children resident in that authority who are eligible to transfer to secondary school in September 2008 were offered a place at their parents' first choice of school and a further 10 per cent. (1,601) were offered a place at their parents' second choice of school.